obedience - Barbara Lynn Seibel

December 10, 2023December 9, 2023

From Genealogies to Dreams: Obeying God | Matthew 1:18-25

The first chapter of the gospel of Matthew surprisingly starts with a genealogy.

After fifteen verses about who fathered what son and after mentioning a few unexpected mothers, we get verse sixteen:

¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ^{^[1]}

Verse seventeen then summarizes the royal genealogical record Matthew highlighted, reinforcing his opening verse statement that Jesus Christ is officially part of the promises made to Abraham back in Genesis and King David in 2 Samuel.

Then, Matthew explains the mystery of why he did not call Joseph the father of Jesus Christ.

April 2, 2023April 1, 2023

If Anyone Asks You

What leaps to mind when you hear someone begin a sentence with, “If anyone asks you”?

Obviously, when someone starts a sentence with that series of words, more instructions are about to follow.

Back in 2009, I had just started my first day of a two-week temporary assignment as a receptionist at a church.

Within the first hour of my temporary assignment, the senior pastor called the staff into a meeting. Meanwhile, being a temp, I remained at my post. As the staff came out of this unexpected meeting, I realized they had received upsetting news. Many were crying as they walked past the reception area to return to their offices.

My manager came and shared with me the news that the person whose role I was covering had stage four cancer and would most likely not return to work. She then proceeded with a version of “if anyone asks you” instruction on how to respond to questions that might come from church members as word of this spread.

This was a tremendous help to me in that unexpected situation. She coached me to be truthful while still protecting the privacy of the person.

Jesus once coached two of his disciples to respond to an “if anyone asks you” question for a specific situation.

May 29, 2022May 28, 2022

BECAUSE YOU WERE OBEDIENT

When looking for a picture for today’s post, I searched pixabay.com with the word obedience.

Dogs, dogs, and more dogs were the main photos that appeared.

The one above is showing a shepherd dog breed doing weave poles on an agility course.

What is it about dogs that make us link them so closely with the word obedience?

As a norm, dogs that are properly raised desire to please their humans.

My husband did agility training with Molly, one of our previous dogs.

Molly loved the rewards of food treats while learning the various parts of an agility course.

When Molly was not actively training on the course, we had to keep her leashed because she would search the entire field for any stray treats that other dogs may have missed.

Molly also loved the time she spent being active with my husband while training.

It was a special bonding time for their relationship.

How does this relate to Bible Study?

May 1, 2022May 1, 2022

When Not to Ask Questions

When did you not ask questions?

Back when my husband and I were living in Oklahoma, he was standing in our kitchen with his back to me ranting about the garbage bucket needing to be emptied. His level of frustration regarding an overfilled garbage bucket was excessive. It was also not his usual demeanor.

Although I wanted to ask questions or say something snarky about his behavior, I sensed the issue was not about the garbage bucket.

Turns out tired frustrations over something at his work triggered his behavior, not the garbage, nor me.

To this day, I am glad I let him express his frustration rather than interrogate him right then.